OK, so I have no idea if the above statement is true or not, but if he's not THE tallest person to ever swing a golf club, at 7'6" he is most certainly ONE OF THE tallest.

The former Houston Rockets center retired from the NBA before the start of last season, which means he has a lot more free time on his hands. And it appears the big man has taken up golf. The website yaomingmania.com posted photos of Yao hitting his new TaylorMade RocketBallz clubs on the driving range of the Shanghai Golf Club.

Yao's pitching wedge is said to be approximately 45" long, which is the length of a standard driver. If you keep the ratio the same between the standard length of a driver and a wedge, it means Yao's driver is roughly 56" long - that's more than four and a half feet! I wonder how far he can hit his driver?

falcon50driver says:I met Randy "Big Unit" Johnson on a trip to Cabo San Lucas and it was impressive to see how disproportionately long his arms were. It's no wonder he could sling a baseball consistantly over 100 mph. If Yao can learn to swing that long club he'll be awesone on distance.

3/21/12

bkuehn1952 says:I have pondered how the USGA/R&A will enforce the 48 inch limit on clubs for fellows like Yao.

3/21/12

mjaber says:@bkuehn... I was just thinking the same thing. Would he be required to use "standard" length clubs and kneel to swing?

3/22/12

GolfnDawg says:Look at that picture. I think he needs a custom golf bag for those clubs.

3/22/12

srogers13 says:him standing on is knees would still make him like 6'2".